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Utah's former director of black affairs was fired Wednesday by the Utah Department of Transportation for what she insists was her role in coordinating a luncheon featuring U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
Debra Charleston, who is black and has worked since July as UDOT's civil rights manager, says her dismissal was racially motivated.
UDOT denies the allegations and maintains her termination was for poor performance, not her involvement in Friday's Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Commission luncheon.
Charleston says "it all went south" after her boss, Bryan Adams, questioned her Monday about her role with the Holder event.
"He asked me if I was involved in the Martin Luther King-Eric Holder event," she said Thursday. "I said yes, because there was no reason to lie. He asked me, 'How involved in that are you?' And I said, 'I'm actually the coordinator of the event.' That's when his whole facial expression changed. He was very displeased when I told him I was working on this. And three days later, I was fired."
UDOT says Adams didn't meet with Charleston on Monday, adding that the agency was aware "from day one" that Charleston was coordinating the luncheon and had no objections. After all, says UDOT spokeswoman Tania Mashburn, the MLK Commission work was a "carry-over" from Charleston's three years as the state's director of black affairs.
"It had nothing to do with her planning that event," Washburn said, noting Charleston was still on a one-year probation at UDOT. "Within a few months of her being hired, her supervisor identified several performance-related issues. It was just determined she couldn't fulfill her job duties adequately."
The firing stunned Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who, along with Charleston, worked to bring Holder, the nation's first black attorney general, to the Beehive State.
"I had no idea," Shurtleff said. "I talk to Debra every day. She's been amazing and invaluable working with the commission."
Shurtleff says the group has been scurrying for the past 45 days to pull off a successful event, which included a change in venue that Charleston helped organize. "She's been the mover and shaker in getting things done," he added. "I'm very disappointed. The timing couldn't be worse."
Commission member Ric Cantrell says Charleston played a key role, calling her a "pillar of strength" for the MLK Commission.
Mashburn says Adams, who hired Charleston, had multiple meetings with her since October about performance problems.
Charleston says she never received any job training, noting the supervisor tapped to do the job had been out on sick leave. She says Adams didn't mention the MLK luncheon when he fired her Wednesday, but she alleges the timing tells the story.
"He said I lacked the technical portion of what I needed to do to supervise or hold the position I was given."
The irony, Charleston argues, is that "I was not hired for my technical skills but for my management experience."
The move, she maintains, had racial overtones.
"Absolutely. Absolutely, because I was the only African-American there," she said. "I'm offended, and I'm appalled. Here we are in 2012. You should be judged by the content of your character. And I'm being judged by the color of my skin."